“Show me another country where the Anglican Archbishop prays at a Muslim funeral; where a white man chairs the proceedings to remember a leader from a black liberation movement; where a sitting president of a developing country is told to step down in a letter from the deceased stalwart of his own party; where the widow of the black man being buried is a white woman who gave her life to the struggle for freedom; and where Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and other faiths come together in a broad swathe of South African humanity to remember a man who fought for all of us.

“Where on and off the stage no one racial or ethnic or religious group dominated the event.

“For a moment, just a moment, it felt good to hope again…”

Jansen said “in one man’s dignified funeral, a moving reminder of who we are and what we can still be. RIP Uncle Kathy.”

In another message, after midnight SA time, Jansen addressed Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa saying: “Dear Cyril, What you do or fail to do in the next 48 hours will determine your legacy for the rest of your life; this is it.”

Kathrada’s funeral was more than a farewell to a fallen comrade. It was a political statement. And Uncle Kathy, who had grown critical of the ANC losing its way, no doubt wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was brought to tears as he was openly praised during one of the eulogies.

Former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe was the main speaker at the funeral of Ahmed Kathrada on Wednesday and took the opportunity to read a letter penned last year by Kathrada‚ who had called on Zuma to step down after the country’s highest court found that Zuma had violated the constitution.